Fig. 7 William Henry Hunt, Saw Mill, Bushey, c. 1820-25

Saw Mill, Bushey

San Marino, California, The Huntington Library, Art Collections and Botanical Gardens, No. 59.55.735

Ink and watercolor

10 1/4 x 14 1/8 in., 26 x 35.9 cm.

 

Provenance:

Gilbert Davis, London, by whom sold to the Huntington Library in 1959.

 

 

While William Henry Hunt was attending the Royal Academy schools during his aprenticeship with John Varley, he and a few other pupils of Varley would attend the informal, evening art classes held at the residence of Dr. Thomas Monro. Dr. Monro was a major supporter of the arts at the time and had amassed large collections of drawings by Gainsborough, John Robert Cozens, and others. By providing a venue for young artists to gather in return for any works they might produce while at his "academy," Dr. Monro satisfied both his desire to encourage the development of artistic talent as well as his own fondness for collecting. Monro had a country home outside of London, at Bushey, near Watford, England (more recently near the Beatle member, George Harrison's estate) Hunt and other artists associated with Dr. Monro would often accompany their patron on country retreats. Since Hunt had difficulty walking due to deformities of his legs, he would ride around the Bushey neighborhood in a donkey pulled cart, painting watercolors at spots accessible to him via the cart..

 

This exceptionally fine early watercolor by Hunt was part of Dr. Monro's large collection and is now in the Huntington Library and Art Galleries in San Marino, Califoria. It shows works constructing a saw mill in the Bushey area.

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